So, yesterday I was out and about working on a side project, about to head home actually, when while at metro La Tour-Maubourg I couldn’t catch a train because they were all packed with Sri-Lankan protesters heading to manifest at Ecole Militaire. About the third train that stopped the conductor said, “The next station is saturated and it would be a better idea for the protesters to walk to Ecole Militaire, because he wasn’t moving”.

As a river of enthusiastic yet peaceful protesters disembarked the train and flowed up the stairs to the street I said to myself, “I’ve got my camera and some time; let’s check this out and maybe get some photos.” I’m happy I did. I took about 120 photos, some good some really not so good.

If you like I posted some others in my Flickr profile. You can head over there and check out the other photos  from Sri-Lankan (Tamouls) Manifest at Ecole Militaire Paris 4, Fev, 2009

Hey All,
I wanted to share this short that I came across. In my opinion it is way beyond excellent. Almost no dialogue I believe it is a piece that crosses cultural lines.

SIGNS from tr3nt3trois on Vimeo.

This piece was an entry into THE SCHWEPPES SHORT FILM FESTIVAL. You might notice some not so covert product placement of Schweppes and Coca-Cola. But hey maybe it was part of the rules since they sponsored the festival.

The above image pretty much says it all.

I decided to post this after sending out an email campaign for the new year. I have an odd feeling I missed some people in the blast. This was the focal image included in the email. So I wish you a Happy New Year or Bonne Année which ever you like.

If you haven’t received your New Years email - the reason is that I probably don’t have your address. Feel free to send me a message with your email address. I’ll be happy to add you to my list for future mailings.

Over the years I have become, if I dare say, proficient in my understanding and utilization of letter forms in the the western cultures, specifically English, French, German and Spanish. It is a fair assumption to make - that in order to communicate through graphic design and typography you need to understand the culture, but more importantly the reason behind why letter forms are the way they are.

But what happens when you take letter forms from an alphabet you don’t understand and play with them? Chances are you are going to have a mess on your hands. I tried to “play” around with the Cyrillic Alphabet. On one hand it was probably a bad idea in the sense that I am not familiar with any Slov languages. I arbitrarily used letter forms without knowing the meaning of the words (if any) that I typed. On the other hand this started out as an exercise in type centered around an alphabet I found to be beautiful in a mystical sort of way. I learned a couple things that I will try and point out throughout this post.

Here Goes:

Russian TV Channel

The idea behind this is simple. I tried to emulate the idea of a TV station for their identity. The goal was to portray a strong knowledgeable persona. The directional arrows used are to illustrate the reciprication of news. It comes in to us and we send it back out to you.

Event at St. Basil’s Cathedral

original photo found here: tinou bao link to actual photo here.

Here’s where I started to notice some of my misconceptions or stereotypes of a culture I don’t fully understand.
The original idea behind this was to create a poster / flyer for an open air event (celebration). It doesn’t look too celebratory now does it? Rather than go back and redesign it I felt it would be a good opportunity to talk about how misconceptions dictate design. I have never been to Russia. I have seen some examples of Russian design from my school days, and usually it was Constructivist, Avant-Garde or DadDa in nature. Another issue I noticed was how dark and gloomy I adjusted the photo to be (with a cheesy LOMO filter). This probably stems from a misconception of poverty and political unjustness that was instilled upon me at an early age, but more on that later. The choice of typeface is somewhat oppressive too. In hind site I find it to give a feeling of pain with religious and cultural suppression.

The Odd Couple Comes to Russia

A popular TV show from my childhood as it would be in Russia. That mirrors the sentiment of the continuous stream of meetings and summits between Gorbachev and Reagan.

The True Odd Couple

While “playing” around with this idea on type I noticed my stereotypes becoming evident in how I treated the designs. It got me thinking about what little I actually knew about the Russian and in general the Slov cultures. I grew up in the seventies and eighties in the United States with the threat of nuclear holocaust around every corner. The U.S. government and media painted a picture of “the evil Russian Empire” and the KGB locking citizens away in Siberia and prisons for the rest of their lives. I along with the rest of the American population was taught to fear and “save the world” from the oppressive Russian regime. Then Reagan and Gorbachev finally signed arms agreements and the “Wall” later came tumbling down, but the damage was already done. I along with countless other Americans was left with a misconception of a culture and peoples that could last a lifetime.

What started out as an innocent exercise in typography turned out to teach me about who I am and what little I actually understand about the world I live in. I look forward to trying to learn more about the Russian and Slov cultures not only to learn more about typography and design, but to break the cycle of the stereotypes I have.

Additional Notes on the Typography

Please remember that the words or characters were arbitrarily used. If I inadvertently told you to go screw your mother or something like that; please accept my apologies.

Pleasant surprise today. Received a message that my portfolio site, conanrobbins.com, was featured among some great designs on a list of 35+ websites with minimal color schemes posted over at the Vandelay Design blog

Thanks for the addition to your post guys.

The Design Cubicle was nice enough to collect logos from a group of designers and feature them on the Design Cubicle blog.

If the folks from the design Cubicle are reading this? I’d like to tell them thanks for the inclusion.

image credit: ©2007 Film 99 Francs-Pathé Distribution-Arte France Cinéma credit photos: Bernard Benant.

Let me first say that I am not in the habit of reviewing films nor will this blog be centered around film review. This is a one time thing.

This film, directed by Jan Kounen (which is based on the book 99 Francs written by Frédéric Beigbeder) is believed by myself to be a humorous commentary on consumerism. Working for agencies and being in this atmosphere I was already aware of consumerism, and I have to say that I am o.k. with that to an extent. Of course there are clients and ideas that I personally wouldn’t represent, but the general idea of shaping the public perception of an idea, company or product was and probably will remain to be the reason why I entered the field of advertising and design. You can hate me if you want, but remember this is a two way street. It takes spin and a healthy budget to advance the most noble of causes.

A brief synopsis of the film (and I mean brief): I’ll try not to spoil it.

Set in 2001 Paris, France - Octave, (Jean Dujardin) a successful ad-man lives the life that would make a rock star blush. He gorges himself with alcohol, cocaine and women. He is put on a pedal stool and his ego is stroked by his co-workers and hangers-on. A difficult client and a love interest that goes awry drive him to partake in more and more alcohol, women and of course drugs. After a series of events he is compelled to re-evaluate his priorities and profession. I told you it was brief.

Filled with transcendental dream sequences and superb art direction this film speaks to the viewers creative side. Even if you don’t agree with the message and the portrayal of the ad business the visual stimulus is enough to keep you entertained.

For those who aren’t already familiar with the ad-business “99 Francs” offers a step by step look into the self-fulfilling world of advertising and PR. More importantly, for those who wish to be or who already are in the realm of the advertising world the film brings you face to face with consumerism and overall excesses in our industry. For me, I was also able to come to terms with where I draw the line in what ideas, companies and products I would represent and at what price. The constant theme of consumerism is prevalent through-out the film, but there isn’t much of a stand for or against. There is a less than stellar attempt at the end of the film to inform you and shock you into reversing the consumerist ways of society. Almost as if Jan Kounen felt ashamed of making the ad world look so appealing.

I have only seen this film in its original French language format. I believe that it is available with subtitles, but I couldn’t say for certain. I found links to free rip off download sites (which I do not support) that had English subtitles, so I would guess that there are legal copies to be had out there. I have seen “99 Francs” five (5) times now and each time I grasp new imagery and ideas. Some comparisons and references will be evident the first time you watch it, ie. ( “Fight Club”, redemption and religious iconography [not just the “Last Super” scene other examples as well] ). Check it out and form your own opinions.

Just a quick message to those wondering why I haven’t posted anything lately.

I am frantically rebranding my portfolio website and blog.

I will return with more posts and a new look after the U.S. presidential election.

It seems that I am asked, “What’s in that book?” or “Why do you carry that book around and what’s in there?”

They are referring to my sketchbook. Some call it a journal. Me, I call it a sketchbook. Yes I write in it, but mostly It houses visual snip-its of what I’m thinking about, a project I’m working on and sometimes neither. Sometimes it is just visual reminders of what’s going on around me.

Below you’ll find some excerpts from some of my pages. No explanations… just images. Maybe in the future I’ll post more, but this is a good start for now. There are a lot of personal things in my sketchbook and I’m not sure I want to share everything with the world.

[Show as slideshow]

Here we have a couple of packaging ideas I put together for a facial sunblock simply named 50+ or fifty plus. Aside from wrapping yourself in a blanket probably the most protection from UV rays you can find. This isn’t for little Johnny and Susie when you take them to the pool on Wednesday afternoons. It’s for you… the grown-ups. Of course it is strong enough to repel the evil rays that cause melanoma on your little ones, but let’s face it at 150 bucks a tube why waste it on those little ingrates? You have to keep yourself looking good.

50+ is packed with collagen and glycosaminoglycan (and 48 other words I can’t pronounce or spell). If you want to keep your freshly Botoxed skin looking like a rubber glove stretched over a garden rake then 50+ is what you are looking for.

Try it today and you will become hooked on it’s age defying mystic powers.